MOSCOW, October 22 2026, Oil tanker freight rates for shipments from the Persian Gulf to Asia have climbed to five times their pre-conflict levels, as maritime disruptions and rising demand for vessels push transportation costs to record highs, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the cost of transporting crude oil from the Middle East Gulf to Asia on large tankers exceeded US$37 per barrel by mid-October, following a sharp increase in September.
The surge has been driven by congestion in the Strait of Hormuz, changes to shipping routes and increased ship-to-ship transfers since the conflict began in March. These challenges have lengthened voyages and reduced vessel availability.
As large crude carriers face longer journeys, charterers have increasingly turned to smaller Suezmax and Aframax tankers to transport oil in divided shipments.
According to the IEA, demand for these two types of vessels, measured in tonne-miles, rose by about 20 per cent in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
Freight rates have also surged on other major routes. By mid-October, shipping crude oil from West Africa to Europe on Suezmax tankers cost more than US$22 per barrel, exceeding four times the pre-conflict rate. Meanwhile, North Sea crude shipments on Aframax tankers saw rates triple to more than US$6 per barrel.
Disruptions have also affected the transportation of refined petroleum products. Higher earnings from crude oil shipments have prompted some operators to redeploy Long Range 2 (LR2) tankers from product transportation to crude oil deliveries, tightening capacity in the product tanker market.
Consequently, freight rates for Long Range 1 (LR1) tankers travelling from the Persian Gulf to Japan reached nearly US$27 per barrel by mid-October, around five times their pre-conflict levels, the IEA said.
-BERNAMA
